JC is not PC!
Here is something that I thought I would never see. A major American newspaper printing an article by John MacArthur containing the gospel - the full gospel - the only gospel. In an article entitled "Read the Gospels: JC is not PC" Johnny Mac tells it like it is!
Let's be brutally honest: most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I'm talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.
Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.
Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.
Against such a culture Jesus' message strikes every discordant note.
Love in the Truth
The Gospel Way
BLESSED LORD JESUS,
No human mind could conceive or invent the gospel.
Acting in eternal grace, thou art both
its messenger and its message,
lived out on earth through infinite compassion,
applying thy life to insult, injury, death,
that I might be redeemed, ransomed, freed.
Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Lamb of God,
for opening this way,
Praise everlasting to thee, O Holy Spirit,
for applying this way to my heart.
Glorious Trinity, impress the gospel on my soul,
until its virtue diffuses every faculty;
Let it be heard, acknowledged, professed, felt.
Teach me to secure this mighty blessing;
Help me to give up every darling lust,
to submit heart and life to its command,
to have it in my will,
controlling my affections,
moulding my understanding;
to adhere strictly to the rules of true religion,
not departing from them in any instance,
nor for any advantage in order to escape evil,
inconvenience or danger.
Take me to the cross to seek glory from its infamy;
Strip me of every pleasing pretence of righteousness
by my own doings.
O gracious Redeemer,
I have neglected thee too long,
often crucified thee,
crucified thee afresh by my impenitence,
put thee to open shame.
I thank thee fort he patience that has borne with me
so long,
and for the grace that now makes me willing to be
thine.
O unite me to thyself with inseparable bonds,
that nothing may ever draw me back from thee,
my Lord, my Saviour.
A Puritan Prayer from;
"The Valley of Vision"
Love in the Truth.
The Older I Get...
I'll be 38 this August. It seems like only yesterday I was playing with toy cars and riding my bike wherever my imagination would take. Having children of my own and watching them playing and having fun with friends has made me realize how naive - in my case stupid would be a better choice of word - I was at that age.
Back then, I didn't see things as dangerous or serious or "stupid" as they really were. There were times when my friends and I would walk across the "frozen" beaver pond because we liked to listen to the ice crack beneath our feet. As I got a little older, I remember trips to the cliffs where we would jump off the precipice onto young trees to "parachute" to "safety" some 50 plus feet below. Looking back, I see the danger I was blind to at the time and I thank God for keeping me safe. It wasn't that I was fearless; it was simply that I was young and immature. So, the older and more mature I get, the more aware of the danger of things I become.
The same fact is true of our sin. As a young believer, the gap between personal sin and God's holiness can seem small. "I know I'm a sinner, but we all are right?" The distance doesn't seem that far; It seems almost scalable with a little effort. But, the older I get the reality of God's infinite holiness shines into the darkness of my depravity, and the distance that once seemed so small reveals it's true size. I am silenced and broken by the price that had to be paid to bridge that gap.
As I've been preaching through 1 Timothy, I am reminded of Paul's words in 1:15 - "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." Paul too, saw the ever-widening gap between his sin and God's holiness.
Do you see it? Is it a small shallow valley that you can cross on your own? Or, is it a deep and deadly canyon that no man dare attempt to cross. May Christ enlarge your mind today of the seriousness of your sin and the infinite grace of a holy God displayed in the gift of Christ crucified.
"My sin, Oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the Cross and I bear it no more..." Soli Deo Gloria!
Love in the Truth.
Crazy Love for FREE!
This month our friends at Christian Audio have made Francis Chan's Crazy Love the free audio book of the month. For those that know me, you know how much I love this book. To be able to have it for free is such a blessing - especially in audio format read by the author himself!
I highly recommend this book to any and all. For those that don't like to read - now you have no excuse - just listen!
Love in the Truth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
